Chapter 63 (1/2)

Chapter 63: Chapter 6 Sudden Change-11

Mad Hatter opened his eyes to the morning sun. The first thing he checked was the person in his embrace. He didn't know for how long she had been awake, but the brown eyes, which had no trace of sleep left in them, looked up at him. Drenched in happiness, he smiled.

”Good morning,” he said quietly as he flexed the arm that was holding SoYoon. His lips touched the top of her head as if they had become accustomed to being there. After lightly kissing her tousled white hair, he got up.

”I'll wash up in the bathroom in the living room. You can use the one in here.”

He pointed to the en suite bathroom and left the room. SoYoon got up soon after him.

After she washed up, the smell of food triggered her senses. As she stepped into the living room, she saw tomato scrambled eggs, cooked bacon, scones, jam, and black tea on the table.

Mad Hatter was putting down his bowl of vitamin capsules when he saw her and said, ”You've come just in time. Please sit.”

As always, she sat on the long sofa as Mad Hatter sat opposite and looked at her. His face looked peaceful on the outside, but there was a shadow underneath.

Mad Hatter's eyes met hers, and he smiled. It was his usual smile.

”What is your schedule like today? Are you very busy?”

”Yes. I have requests to fulfill all day.”

”Hmm, I see. You must be hungry, since you didn't eat dinner last night. Hurry and eat.”

Mad Hatter poured the tea into her cup, applied jam to a scone, and handed it to her. The jam was the same one she had bought at a fancy bakery in Central on behalf of Tweedle Dee. The jar was smaller than her finger, but it cost 30,000 carol. She thought the price was ridiculous for the amount and had wondered if anyone would buy such a thing, but here she was eating it herself. Realizing what she was thinking, Mad Hatter told her.

”Someday, I'll attempt making jam.”

His voice sounded determined. SoYoon was going to ask if that was necessary, but she thought it better not to say anything.

After thinking for some time, she swallowed the piece of scone in her mouth and answered, ”I'll look forward to it.”

That was the correct answer, SoYoon thought as she saw the ecstatic smile on Mad Hatter's face.

***

After breakfast, Mad Hatter waved goodbye to SoYoon and got ready to leave himself. His destination was Heart's house.

Heart's minions were immensely tense, but today, Heart invited Mad Hatter as a guest. Heart's men escorted him into the office. When the door opened, he saw Heart with narrowed eyes.

Mad Hatter sat on the sofa that Heart indicated and asked him, ”What's your business? You've intentionally kept White Rabbit busy all day and called me here, which means you don't want her to get in the way. Isn't that true?”

”It's something important. It's regarding Whitey.”

Heart did not want to see Mad Hatter's face, so he continued the dialogue from his desk instead of on the sofa. Someone else might have found this rude, but Mad Hatter didn't think much of it as he had other things on his mind. The moment Heart uttered the nickname Whitey, her real name tingled at the edge of his tongue.

Ye SoYoon.

Seeing how she had asked him to call her SoYoon, he assumed her last name was Ye and her name was SoYoon. There was a chance that YeSoYoon was her name, and SoYoon was a nickname, but he doubted she would ask to be called by her nickname after years of not hearing her real name.

SoYoon—it was a name that you had to pronounce carefully by slightly puckering your lips. He had no intention of revealing this treasure to anyone else. Even saying the name silently filled his mouth with such sweetness that he couldn't help but grin. That smile didn't last long, however.